Unit Six: Vocabulary/Concept Pre-Assessment - Cities and Urban Land Use

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to urban studies and land use in cities.

Urban Sprawl

The expansion of low-density urban areas around a city, leading to the spread of suburbs.

Blockbusting

Real estate practice where agents persuade residents to sell homes due to the fear of another race or class moving into the neighborhood.

Gentrification

The renewal or rebuilding of a lower-income neighborhood into a middle or upper-class area, driving up property values and rents.

Redlining

Discriminatory real estate practice that prevents minorities from getting loans to purchase homes or property in predominantly white neighborhoods.

Primate City

A city that dominates a country's economy, size, and influence; for example, Paris in France.

Rank-Size Rule

A statistical relationship where the population of a city is inversely proportional to its rank in the hierarchy of cities.

Central Business District

The area of a city where businesses cluster and is typically the center of infrastructure; an example is Downtown Chicago.

Spaces of Consumption

Urban areas designed to encourage consumption of goods and services, heavily influenced by global media and consumer culture.

Bid-Rent Theory

The premise that the price and demand for land increases the closer it is to the central city.

Urban Ghetto

A city area characterized by high crime rates, poverty, and segregation, often where minority groups are concentrated.

Squatter Settlement

An area that develops without legal land ownership, building permits, or adequate infrastructure.

Central Place Theory

Theory that the size and location of cities and towns are spaced out in relation to their surrounding areas and the services they provide.

Threshold

The minimum number of people needed for a business to operate successfully.

Range

The maximum distance consumers are willing to travel to acquire goods or services.

Megacity

An urban area with more than 10 million people, such as Tokyo.